Friday, October 06, 2006

The Jewish Harvest Holiday is called (in modern Hebrew) Sukkot or Succot. In the west it used to be pronounced Sukkos or Succos. In any case the word is the plural of succa (or sukka). The spelling variations in English impact my cartoons, in that each year I argue with myself (or an editor) about the spelling.Succa (or sukka) means hut (or booth). Translations into English call the holiday "the Feast of Tabernacles" (a fancy word for temporary shelters). The Israelite Harvest Holiday (which begins this evening at sundown) is described in the Bible and is becoming more recognized by Christians.

"And ye shall take to you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it as a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It is a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths - sukkot - seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."- Leviticus 23, verses 40 to 43

The holiday (which begins at sundown this evening) is filled with lovely practices, the building, decorating, and covering with palm fronds and branches of a succa being one.Happy holiday!